Tough Talk With Steve Ward: Episode 9

Master MatchmakerSteve Ward is back for another season of Tough Love, and each week, he’ll be giving us an exclusive look at what went down behind the scenes on the series. This week, we discussed the awkwardness that comes with meeting your girlfriend’s parents. All the guys handled things well, but it got pretty awkward for a few of them.

I want to ask you what you thought of Shalana’s mom in this episode, telling her grandson that Aubrey would be his new step-dad.

That’s what I call a deterrent, not to mention when guys meet a woman’s mother, they imagine that’s what the woman is going to turn herself into. I’m just saying, the mom didn’t help matters at all.

Were you shocked that she’d make that leap, hearing her say “Here’s your new step-father”?

Yes, it was really shocking but Aubrey was really cool about the whole thing, which I felt was great.

I would also worry more about Shalana’s son’s impression of what was happening, that’s a confusing message to get the first time you meet your mom’s boyfriend.

There’s no question in my mind that that kid is growing up with a warped perception of relationships. No doubt. But you can see in the tease for the finale that Aubrey was not dissuaded by any of this.

Speaking of not dissuaded, Carl was the pillar of strength and support for Elizabeth during her trip home, despite the fact that her entire family stood her up.

I think that gives you a little bit of insight into Carl’s character, I think he enjoys being that rock, and being that one to save someone, it’s indicative of his character. He wants to be with someone who can be vulnerable and who needs to lean on him. A lot of guys are attracted to vulnerability and respond to it.

Did anything ever get resolved with Elizabeth’s family after the fact?

Not to my knowledge. My mom is still in communication with Elizabeth and to my understanding they haven’t changed their point of view at all.

It was sad to watch her waiting there for them and never show up.

Tell me about it.

Melissa mentioned that her family was even more awkward than she is, but I didn’t really think that was true.

Come on! Are you kidding me? Breaking out the bat mitzvah photos? That wasn’t awkward?? Not to mention she’s coming home to meet her family and she has all of her friends there, come on. That’s so unnecessary. Talk about overwhelming the guy.

But Chris did really well.

Of course he did, he’s a stand up guy. They all did well.

Yeah, every guy really handled himself well under the pressures of meeting the families.

Or at least, they didn’t show it, that’s what’s important. Even if it did make them uncomfortable, they all showed respect, they didn’t make it see uncomfortable, and they did their best to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone.

Did you have any reservations about any of the guys in particular meeting the parents?

No. I wasn’t worried. Maybe just a little bit for John because I had no idea what Stephanie’s parents were like, I assumed they would be pretty conservative, and it turned out they were, but I knew John would fit in well.

Do you think her choices with men, and how she tends to go for bad boys, are a rebellion against her conservative family?

I think she was probably doing it to get a reaction out of her parents all these years, and I think she’s grown out of it and now she just wants acceptance.

Danielle’s situation was different this week since she met with her ex, Kevin, to discuss getting back together.

And what a cop-out answer Kevin gave! She was like “I want to know, yes or no, is there a chance of us reviving this?” and his answer is 50/50?? That’s bulls—. I would have turned around and been like, does that mean not right now? You’re seeing someone else? I’m on the back burner? I’m not a priority, I’m on your back burner? Because if that’s the case, go f— yourself. That’s what she should have done. But she didn’t.

What are your final thoughts on the episode, since we didn’t get a hot seat?

I think that the girls all did a really wonderful job of handling the pressure, rising to the occasion, going home with their families and doing their best to make the guys feel as comfortable as possible. At the end of the day, that’s all I could really ask and they did a really great job.